Union City mayor's trip to China draws interest from investors

UNION CITY -- A trade delegation the mayor joined in China two months ago appears close to paying dividends, Union City leaders are saying.

Four groups of Chinese business officials and investors have met with Union City leaders since Mayor Carol Dutra-Vernaci returned from the trip.

A fifth group is scheduled to visit next week, said Gloria Ortega, Union City's economic development manager.

The mayor "put Union City on the map in China," Ortega said. "The fact is, the visibility of Union City among investor groups has had a significant increase since the mayor's visit."

Dutra-Vernaci joined nearly a dozen other Bay Area city leaders on the 10-day trip in late June. They visited Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Shenzhen.

"It was a great opportunity to build relationships with the Bay Area delegation and the folks I met in China," Dutra-Vernaci said. "It was all about Union City's economic development, helping to grow the city's businesses and job opportunities."

China Silicon Valley, a nonprofit organization that promotes Bay Area trade with the communist nation, paid the city leaders' travel expenses.

The only items costing Union City taxpayers were marketing materials the mayor shared with Chinese leaders. They cost a few thousand dollars, and leftover ones are distributed whenever delegations visit the city, Ortega said.

Recent Chinese visitors have included a manufacturer seeking warehouse space, a software firm looking to expand in the Bay Area, and business consultants representing several types of companies.

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Union City is attractive because of its BART station and other public transit, and its proximity to several universities, three major airports and to Silicon Valley at relatively inexpensive real estate prices, Ortega said.

It also boasts a strong Chinese-American presence in a city where 54 percent of its 70,000 residents are Asian.

"There are excellent cultural connections here," Ortega said. "We have great Asian markets, great restaurants, and they're a real asset when looking for folks to invest."

Union City leaders describe their recent talks with Chinese officials as "preliminary" and "exploratory," but they hope it's a sign of things to come.

"The city is strategically poised to offer a great location for business expansions," Ortega said.